Senior Citizen Medical Alert Scam

Authorities are warning of a scam that prey's on the sick and elderly. Thieves are calling homes and using health incentives to pry personal information from victims.

The calls start with the same pitch -- a free medical device for senior citizens.

"They tell you, that it's coming your way, it's very quickly going to be sent to you. They're also putting pressure on you by saying that you need this for your health," said New York Deputy Secretary of State Marcos Vigil.

The caller then asks for information so they can send the medical device. They're after your personal information because they want to do further criminal activities and do something with your financial information.

Vigil is putting the word out about this scam targeting the elderly because of the sheer numbers of complaints they've received.

"Unfortunately, these scams are very sophisticated so sometimes they use companies that actually do exist." said Vigil.

He said seniors might be given company names that sound similar to legitimate businesses. But when state investigators call these firms, they say they don't use telemarketers this way.

Vigil said generally speaking, you should only give out personal information if you initiate the call to a company you know to be reputable.